Many Americans assume that reaching a certain age automatically means they’ll qualify for Social Security retirement benefits. But age is only part of the equation.
To collect Social Security based on your own work history, you must earn enough work credits during your career. Workers who don’t meet that requirement may be surprised to learn that they’re ineligible for benefits once they get older.
The good news is that the rules regarding Social Security work credits are relatively straightforward. And for some people who fall short, there may still be another path to receiving Social Security benefits.
Understanding Social Security’s work credits
To qualify for Social Security benefits in retirement, you generally need to accumulate 40 work credits in the course of your career. The maximum amount of credits you can earn in a single year is four.
The value of a single work credit changes every year. In 2026, you earn one work credit for every $1,890 in wages or self-employment income. In other words, once you earn $7,560 this year, you’ve earned all four available work credits, regardless of whether you continue working and earning money beyond that point.
It’s important to understand that work credits determine whether you’re eligible for retirement benefits, not how much you’ll receive. Your actual monthly Social Security benefit is based on your 35 highest-paid years of wages and the age at which you claim benefits.
What happens if you don’t have enough Social Security work credits?
If you reach retirement age with fewer than 40 work credits, you generally won’t qualify for Social Security retirement benefits based on your own work record. And it’s not a totally uncommon situation. Some people spend years outside the workforce caring for family members, so it’s possible to reach one’s 60s without enough credits.
If you’re approaching retirement and discover you’re short on work credits, there may still be time to fix the problem. You could, for example, work part-time for a few more years or do freelance work. Freelance income counts toward work credits as long as it’s reported and you pay taxes on it.
Even if you never earn the required 40 credits, that doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t get any Social Security. If you’re married or divorced after a qualifying marriage, you may be eligible for spousal benefits from Social Security based on your current or former spouse’s earnings record.
Spousal benefits can be worth up to 50% of a spouse’s full retirement age (FRA) benefit. So if you’re married and your spouse is entitled to $2,400 a month in Social Security at their FRA, you might receive as much as a $1,200 monthly check, even if you don’t have a single work credit to your name.
All told, work credits are a big part of Social Security. It’s important to understand how they work and figure out how many you have if you’re counting on getting benefits. And it’s just as important to know that Social Security isn’t automatically off the table if you’re retiring and missing work credits.
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